Swim with whale sharks off Isla Holbox
The largest fish in the sea gathers off the north Yucatán coast to feed in summer. Regulated, with limits on boats and swimmers.
diskover·us
Home › Destinations › North America › Mexico
North America
Things to do in Mexico
Ancient pyramids, colonial cities, and a food scene that rewards wandering off the resort strip.
Explore Mexico on the map →Budget$
Best for7-10 days
CapitalMexico City
VisaVisa-free up to 180 days (US), 6 months (UK)
CurrencyMexican peso (MXN)
LanguagesSpanish
InternetGood
Typical lodging$20–$55/night
Driving sideRight
Power & voltage120V / 60Hz (Type A/B plug)
Time zoneUTC-6 to UTC-8 (multiple zones)
Emergency number911
Dialing code+52
★★★★★ Food★★★★★ Beaches★★★★★ Culture
Visa rules and emergency numbers can change without notice. Confirm the specifics for your nationality and dates before you travel.
Travel smart
Tap water is safe to drink. 15–20% at restaurants is standard.
Mexico has more UNESCO World Heritage sites than any country in the Americas, and its cuisine was the first ever listed as intangible heritage in its own right. Underneath the Yucatán there's no surface river at all: rainwater drains through limestone into thousands of flooded caves, which is why cenotes exist and why the Maya built their cities around them.
When to go
Dry seasonNovember–April
The main window nationwide: warm, dry and reliably sunny. December to March is peak on both coasts, with prices to match.
ShoulderMay, October
Hot but quieter, before or after the rains. Good value, and the Yucatán is at its emptiest.
Rainy seasonJune–October
Afternoon downpours rather than all-day rain, landscapes at their greenest, and hurricane risk on both coasts peaking August–September.
HighlandsYear-round
Mexico City and San Miguel sit high enough to stay temperate all year: warm days, cool evenings, and rain concentrated in summer afternoons.
21 things to do
▾
Wildlife & nature
3Watch grey whales in Baja
They migrate to Baja's lagoons to calve, and mothers regularly bring calves right up to the small boats.
Stand in the monarch butterfly forests
Hundreds of millions of butterflies overwinter in the Michoacán highlands, weighing down the fir branches until the sun warms them.
▾
Culture & history
5Climb the pyramids at Teotihuacán
A city of 100,000 people abandoned centuries before the Aztecs found it, with the Avenue of the Dead running between two enormous pyramids.
See Chichén Itzá at the equinox, or avoid it then$35–40
The main pyramid throws a serpent-shaped shadow down its staircase at the March and September equinoxes, which draws enormous crowds.
Walk into the jungle ruins at Palenque or Calakmul
Maya cities still half-swallowed by rainforest, with howler monkeys in the canopy. Calakmul is remote enough to be nearly empty.
Spend a day at the Anthropology Museum
Mexico City's national museum holds the Aztec sun stone and Maya collections, widely considered one of the best museums anywhere.
Be there for Día de Muertos
Cemetery vigils, marigolds and altars for the dead: a family occasion rather than a party, at its most striking around Oaxaca and Michoacán.
▾
Food & markets
4Eat tacos al pastor from a spit
Pork on a vertical trompo, a Lebanese immigrant technique adopted entirely, sliced with pineapple, eaten late at night.
Try the seven moles of Oaxaca
Sauces with dozens of ingredients ground for hours. Negro is the famous one, but coloradito and amarillo are worth the comparison.
Drink mezcal in a palenque
Small distilleries around Oaxaca roast agave in earth pits, which is where the smoke comes from. Tasted neat, with orange and salt.
Eat breakfast in a city market
Mercado 20 de Noviembre in Oaxaca, San Juan in Mexico City: tlayudas, tamales, fresh juice, and the best value meal of the day.
▾
Adventure & outdoors
1Ride the Copper Canyon railway
A line through canyon country in Chihuahua that's deeper and longer than the Grand Canyon, past Rarámuri villages.
▾
Coast & water
4Swim in a cenote
Limestone sinkholes filled with fresh water, some open to the sky, others in caves with light shafts. The Yucatán has thousands.
Snorkel the Mesoamerican Reef
The second-largest barrier reef in the world, running down the coast from Cancún past Cozumel toward Belize.
Surf the Pacific coast
Puerto Escondido's Zicatela is for experts; Sayulita, Troncones and San Pancho are where people actually learn.
Walk the beaches at Tulum or Holbox
Ruins on a cliff above the Caribbean at Tulum; sandbars, flamingos and no cars on Holbox further north.
▾
Cities & design
3Wander the colonial cities of the highlands
San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato and Puebla: silver money spent on churches and pastel streets, still very much lived in.
See Frida Kahlo's blue house
Casa Azul in Coyoacán, where she was born, lived and died, with her studio and belongings left in place. Tickets go quickly.
Watch lucha libre from the cheap seats
Masked wrestling in Mexico City's Arena México, taken seriously and not seriously at the same time. The crowd is the show.
▾
Slow days
1Take a boat through the canals at Xochimilco
The last surviving stretch of the Aztec lake system, punted on painted trajineras with mariachi boats pulling alongside.
Common questions
▾Is Mexico safe to visit?
The main tourist areas, Mexico City's central neighborhoods, the Yucatán Peninsula, and the Pacific and Caribbean resort towns, see heavy tourism and are generally safe with normal precautions. Some regions do carry specific travel advisories related to organized crime, so it's worth checking current guidance for the exact areas on your itinerary rather than assuming the whole country carries the same risk level.
▾How much does it cost to visit Chichen Itza?
The total foreigner entrance fee runs about 697 MXN (roughly $35-40), split between a federal INAH fee and a Yucatán state fee collected as two separate tickets at the gate. It's one of the pricier single-site entries in the region, so factor it in specifically if you're visiting on a tight budget.
▾How many days do you need in Mexico?
10-14 days covers a solid combination: a few days in Mexico City, a stretch on the Yucatán Peninsula for Chichen Itza and the coast, or Oaxaca and the central highlands instead. A one-week trip usually means picking a single region.
▾Do I need a visa for Mexico?
US, UK, Canadian, EU and most other passport holders can enter visa-free for up to 180 days as tourists. Check the current list for your specific nationality, since a smaller number of countries do need a visa arranged in advance.
▾What's the best time to visit Mexico?
November through April is the dry season across most of the country and the most popular time to visit, particularly for the Yucatán and Pacific coast. The rainy season from May through October brings afternoon storms rather than all-day rain in most regions, and comes with lower prices.
▾Is Mexico expensive?
Mexico is a genuinely affordable destination overall: food, local transport and budget-to-mid-range accommodation cost a fraction of equivalent US prices, even though resort towns and major sites like Chichen Itza charge tourist-level rates.